Soraya Umewaka presents her Brazilian documentary film ‘I am Happy’ (‘Eu Sou Feliz’)

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Soraya Umewaka (Princeton University, ’06) will be presenting her Brazilian documentary film ‘I am Happy’ (‘Eu Sou Feliz’) at Shibuya’s Uplink Cinema on February 25th (Sat) and February 26th (Sun).

Both days will have screenings at 4pm and 7pm with Q&A, live samba music and capoeira performance. This documentary was made possible with the support of Princeton University’s Labouisse Fellowship. The documentary will have both English and Japanese subtitles.

Address: Totsune Building 1st floor Udagawa chou 37-18 Shibuya-ku
Advanced tickets: 1500 yen
Tickets at the door: 2000 yen

Please contact Soraya directly for advanced tickets: streetwitness@gmail.com

Synopsis: In the favelas of Rio de Janeiro, graffiti artists make a living through art rather than crime; samba dancers rehearse for hours in order to have a better life; in-house-maids toil away during the week in wealthy homes of the city’s south side; and military police combat favela crime with minimal resources. Despite having to face social and economic problems, these individuals persevere by creating their own brand of happiness – a survival tool that is closely intertwined with their psychological wellbeing. What is their perception of happiness?
Is happiness a state of mind or a fleeting moment in time?

This documentary has premiered at international film festivals and will tour around the world with National Geographic this year.

Flyers are here and here.

www.streetwitnessproductions.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tw8viu5n33I (trailer)

渋谷のUplink映画館で特別上映会ブラジルのドキュメンタリー「私は幸せ」。上映後には映画監督 梅若ソラヤのトーク、ライブのサンバ音楽とカポエイラのパフォーマンス。梅若ソラヤはプリンストンのラボイース奨学金を２００６年に受賞しこのドキュメンタリーを完成した。

日・時：２月２５日（４時と７時）　２月２６日（４時と７時）
場所：渋谷区宇田川町37-18 トツネビル１階

日本語と英語の字幕あり。

ストーリー：
リオデジャネイロのスラムで、グラフィティーアーティ ストは、犯罪ではなく芸術で生計を立て、サンバのダ ンサーは、より良い生活をしようと何時間もリハーサ ルをし、メイドは、市の南側の裕福な家庭で、一週間 を通してせっせと働く。そして憲兵は最小限の予算で スラムの犯罪と戦う。社会的、経済的問題に直面しな ければならないにも関わらず、これらの人々はそれぞ れ、自分自身の幸せを創り出そうと必死に頑張る。そ れは彼らの精神的な幸福と密接に絡み合った、生き残るための手段なのです。

www.streetwitnessproductions.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tw8viu5n33I （予告編）

Tonight at 7:30pm! Prince Club gathering at Biervana in Akasaka

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Princeton Club shares the following:

Happy 2012, everyone! We’re starting off the year with a gathering at Biervana in Akasaka. The venue is easily accessible from Akasaka, Akasaka-Mitsuke, and Nagatacho stations, and offers a casual but spacious environment for us to renew our friendships for the new year. Drinks start at 700 yen for the house wine, 750 for bottled beer, and we’ve managed to arrange for a discount on pints of Hacker-Pschorr Anno 1417 (on draft) for 800 yen. As always, there will be no set course, so people will be free to come and go as their schedules permit.

WHEN: Friday, January 27 from 7:30 to 11:00 pm

WHERE: Biervana in Akasaka. (Address and maps here: http://www.biervana.com/access)

WHAT: Drinks start at 700 yen with a special draft beer for 800 yen. Food can also be ordered off the bar menu.

DRESS: No dress code.

In the interests of getting a general headcount, if you’re even slightly interested in going — or if you should have any questions about the event — please email Peyton Bowman (Princeton ’02) at pgbowman@alumni.princeton.edu or Hugh Kennedy (Princeton ’00) at hdangerk@gmail.com.

Book Announcement: “On the Front Lines of Forging a Global Society: Japanese and American Coworkers in Japan” by Adam Komisarof

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Dear Brunonians and Friends:

After years of research, our fellow alumnus and our regular Bonenkai member, Adam Komisarof, has published a book called “On the Front Lines of Forging a Global Society: Japanese and American Coworkers in Japan”. Please see the summary and purchase information below:

Book by Adam Komisarof

Adam Komisarof, 2011, On the Front Lines of Forging a Global Society - Japanese and American Coworkers in Japan, Reitaku University Press

As globalization advances and national borders become increasingly porous, Japan is now facing the human reality of these rapid changes: greater cultural diversity in the workforce, which brings the concomitant challenge of how to integrate multicultural workers into their organizations of employment. Japan is also admitting foreign workers to compensate for a labor shortage as its retiree population grows and birth rate declines–thus intensifying the demographic shift towards greater numbers of long-term and permanent economic migrants. To better facilitate this movement towards a more diverse society, it is critical to examine which factors have contributed thus far to creating smooth mutual acculturation processes for foreign workers and Japanese people vs. those which have not.

Therefore, the aim of this book is to assess the extent and manner in which the degree of compatibility of Japanese and American coworkers’ acculturation strategies affects their quality of intercultural relations (including job effectiveness), with the broader goal of building inclusive organizational spaces where both American and Japanese employees enjoy camaraderie, opportunities for advancement, and productive daily work lives.

On the Front Lines of Forging a Global Society contributes to both theoretical and methodological developments in the study of acculturation. On the theoretical level, revisions are made to the Interactive Acculturation Model–one of the premier theories in the acculturation field. New ground is broken in methodology by using the Vancouver Index of Acculturation (a leading acculturation strategy assessment instrument) as a tool to characterize perceptions of cultural outgroup members’ acculturation strategies. Furthermore, quantitative and qualitative methods are utilized to gain a more nuanced picture of the current state of American-Japanese intercultural relations and to generate numerous insights as to how they may be improved.

In the final chapter, practical advice is offered to cultivate better Japanese-American intercultural communication. Therefore, this book is intended for not only acculturation researchers, but also for administrators, teachers, and business people interested in promoting more effective American-Japanese communication. As the research findings are applicable to other cultural groups besides Americans (particularly Western ones), this work is also written for people from other nations who are curious about and/or professionally involved with Japan. The author’s hope is that this volume will aid both researchers and practitioners alike in their quests to facilitate smoother intercultural relations between Japanese and Americans, as well as Japanese and other non-Japanese ethnocultural groups.ADAM KOMISAROF is an associate professor of intercultural communication at Reitaku University. (ISBN 978-4-89205-602-4 C3036, Reitaku University Press)

For those wishing to purchase this book in Japan, copies may be bought directly from the Reitaku University Press or most major Internet book sellers, such as Amazon, Kinokuniya, and Rakuten.

Brown University Club of Japan

Princeton Club invites you to Year-End Party, Sat., Dec. 17

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‘Max’ Tsumuraya of Prince Club kindly invites Brown Club members to join Princetonians for their Year-End Party.

Year-End Party of the Princeton Club of Japan will be this Saturday. Those who have not decided are welcome to join since the space is still available abundantly.

Time and Date: 5 pm till 9 pm, Dec. 17 (Sat) – you can come any time
Location: Sake Bistro W, reserved entirely for the event
Address: Tokyo Club Bldg. 1st Fl., 3-2-6 Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda-ku
Access: 3 min. on foot from Subway Ginza-line Toranomon St. Exit 5
After getting out of Toranomon St., you can see Tokyo Club Bldg next left of Kasumigaseki Bldg, while the bldg. of Ministry of Education & Science is located next right of Kasumigaseki Bldg.
Cost: 5000 yen – foods and free drinks

RSVP if you would like to attend, and pay the fee to the bank account below by Dec. 14.　If it is difficult to pay by the 14th., you can pay at the door on the 17th.

Account： Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp.
Branch: Tokyo Eigyobu
Futsu Koza: 211-1520205
Name of holder: Tsumuraya Masakazu

Masakazu Tsumuraya
Managing Partner – Horton International Japan
1-7-7 Minami Kugahara, Ohta-ku, Tokyo 147-0084
Phone: 03-5700-4867
Fax: 03-5700-4845
Cellular: 090-9144-8658
e-mail: tsumuraya@hortoninternational.com
Web: http://www.hortoninternational.com
Column: http://www.icompass.ne.jp/careerup/headhunter/